Polyurethane or Tung oil?

[pewternhrata]

What's your preference? It's for a media rack so I'm not concerned with being water proof. Not looking for a high gloss finish either. I don't stain to often so what would you recommend for a beginner to get a good smooth finish. Color is black cherry.

 

[TLS Guy]

What's your preference? It's for a media rack so I'm not concerned with being water proof. Not looking for a high gloss finish either. I don't stain to often so what would you recommend for a beginner to get a good smooth finish. Color is black cherry.

Lots of coats of Tung or Danish will give you a nice deep finish. However reapplications will be required.

Since this rack is going to be used you might want to use a more durable finish.

Seal the wood with an oil based sealer, not latex. Then you can apply several coats of flat or semigloss latex varnish. You need to sand with extra fine sandpaper or very fine wire wool between coats.

A semigloss varnish will give you a more durable finish than flat.

 

[MrBoat]

What species is the wood you are going to stain? Some notes about tung oil. A lot of it actually isn't. It's thinned varnish. You can make a rubbing varnish yourself by thinning it about 50/50 with mineral spirits. If you want to use tung oil, be sure it is actually that.

A lot of wood species are prone to being splotchy with stain, meaning some rather apparent light areas. One way to combat this is by first sealing it with thinned, unwaxed shellac (with denatured alcohol) by brushing or rolling it on and then wiping off the excess with a rag and being extra careful not to leave any pools or excess. This will allow the wood to take stain more evenly by blocking the thirstier parts of the grain that would typically go darker.

 

[highfigh]

Another point about most finishes- gloss is the hardest/most durable, flat is the least durable. If you want flat or satin, you can mix the finishes if they're the same type but the base coats can also be gloss, followed by a satin topcoat.

One of the easier finishes I have used is MinWax fast drying floor poly, in satin. I sprayed the kitchen cabinets I built with it, thinned with Naptha. The Naptha makes to spray better and it skins over sooner, so dust particles are less of a problem. I brushed poly on the base cabinet face frames and followed that with green ScotchBrite dipped in paste wax. Nice, satin finish from gloss poly. Since it was November and I didn't have time to wait for gloss to dry at its own pace, I used the fast drying satin and it looks great. I used it to refinish a bass guitar, too- sprayed with a Harbor Freight conversion HVLP gun and a couple of good filters in-line.

 

[MrBoat]

Another point about most finishes- gloss is the hardest/most durable, flat is the least durable. If you want flat or satin, you can mix the finishes if they're the same type but the base coats can also be gloss, followed by a satin topcoat.

One of the easier finishes I have used is MinWax fast drying floor poly, in satin. I sprayed the kitchen cabinets I built with it, thinned with Naptha. The Naptha makes to spray better and it skins over sooner, so dust particles are less of a problem. I brushed poly on the base cabinet face frames and followed that with green ScotchBrite dipped in paste wax. Nice, satin finish from gloss poly. Since it was November and I didn't have time to wait for gloss to dry at its own pace, I used the fast drying satin and it looks great. I used it to refinish a bass guitar, too- sprayed with a Harbor Freight conversion HVLP gun and a couple of good filters in-line.

Nice bass!

 

[Diesel57]

Another point about most finishes- gloss is the hardest/most durable, flat is the least durable. If you want flat or satin, you can mix the finishes if they're the same type but the base coats can also be gloss, followed by a satin topcoat.

One of the easier finishes I have used is MinWax fast drying floor poly, in satin. I sprayed the kitchen cabinets I built with it, thinned with Naptha. The Naptha makes to spray better and it skins over sooner, so dust particles are less of a problem. I brushed poly on the base cabinet face frames and followed that with green ScotchBrite dipped in paste wax. Nice, satin finish from gloss poly. Since it was November and I didn't have time to wait for gloss to dry at its own pace, I used the fast drying satin and it looks great. I used it to refinish a bass guitar, too- sprayed with a Harbor Freight conversion HVLP gun and a couple of good filters in-line.

That's real nice work, the appearance looks natural, great appeal.

 

[highfigh]

That's real nice work, the appearance looks natural, great appeal.

Thanks. I like gloss on instruments but this one was treated like a farm animal and the grain is nice enough that paint would have been cause for a beating (of me)- the photo below shows it before I refinished the body and replaced the neck and there's an area where the previous owner rested his thump and it would seem that he didn't keep his nails short because he created a divot in the wood. Between that and a few other dings, I could have filled them, but it's too deep. The manufacturer made this brand to be budget-friendly and that meant they made their own bridges, didn't sand the bodies to perfection and the neck's truss rod design wasn't good until someone started working there who actually understood these things. The photo of the back shows that the planer wasn't set up properly and they didn't flatten it because they weren't trying to be Alembic, whose basses were finished almost to perfection and had a gloss finish would have shown flaws.

Fortunately for me, that someone who went to work there opened an instrument repair shop in Milwaukee not long after I bought this and a local small paper interviewed him- I talked with him about repairing the neck and it would have been too expensive to be considered feasible but when I stopped in about something else, he told me that a builder in Texas is making an improved version of this brand (SD Curlee) and I could call to discuss. We did and again, it wouldn't be feasible but I received an e-mail from this builder about a year later, to tell me that someone had provided him with the motherlode of original parts and these included unfinished necks for the model I have, so I bought one.

 

[highfigh]

What species is the wood you are going to stain? Some notes about tung oil. A lot of it actually isn't. It's thinned varnish. You can make a rubbing varnish yourself by thinning it about 50/50 with mineral spirits. If you want to use tung oil, be sure it is actually that.

A lot of wood species are prone to being splotchy with stain, meaning some rather apparent light areas. One way to combat this is by first sealing it with thinned, unwaxed shellac (with denatured alcohol) by brushing or rolling it on and then wiping off the excess with a rag and being extra careful not to leave any pools or excess. This will allow the wood to take stain more evenly by blocking the thirstier parts of the grain that would typically go darker.

Great points- one source of de-waxed clear shellac is Zinsser Sanding Sealer. I used it on the bass as a barrier coat and to fill the grain so I wouldn't need to put a thick plastic shell on it. I sprayed the shellac, followed by sanding and then sprayed the poly,

 

[Diesel57]

Great points- one source of de-waxed clear shellac is Zinsser Sanding Sealer. I used it on the bass as a barrier coat and to fill the grain so I wouldn't need to put a thick plastic shell on it. I sprayed the shellac, followed by sanding and then sprayed the poly,

I sure would enjoy viewing the finish product, with that being said, keep us posted

 

[lsiberian]

Seal the wood with an oil based sealer, not latex. Then you can apply several coats of flat or semigloss latex varnish. You need to sand with extra fine sandpaper or very fine wire wool between coats.

I have a cd shelf I finished with latex. Needless to say the CDs are quite secure on the shelf.

 

[highfigh]

I sure would enjoy viewing the finish product, with that being said, keep us posted

The finish is done and I used TruOil on the neck. Actually, I used that fast-dry poly and let it harden fully (AKA "ran out of time and had to let it sit for about a year"). I put green painter's tape along the frets so I could dress them and clean up the ends- when I was done, I peeled the tape off and a good amount of the poly came off with it. I believe I sanded it too finely, so it didn't have anything to grab onto- it doesn't soak in like some finishes, so I used NAPA carb cleaner to strip the poly. The non environmentally-friendly stuff removes all kinds of finishes and I found out about this as a paint stripper when I was working on boats and I needed to clean a flame arrester (marine version of an air cleaner, but if it backfires, it won't allow flame to pass through it), so I sprayed it on and watched the black paint crinkle immediately. It was Summer with high temperature & humidity- this stuff is so volatile that frost formed on the aluminum.

Once it was stripped, I decided to try lacquer, so I wiped on a few coats of dewaxed shellac and sprayed the lacquer. It looked good, but must have been an old can, because I left it for weeks and it never hardened. I have worked with nitro before and this stuff was completely different. Once that was stripped, I left it to off-gas whatever solvent was in the wood, until I couldn't smell anything from the wood. During that waiting time, I decided to try the Tru Oil and that s tuff is geat! Wipes on, excess wipes off, let it dry. go back the next day and add a few more coats after scuffing with mild ScotchBrite, let it dry. Day 3, Scuff with ScotchBrite and wipe with Naptha, then a few more coats. I think I did this for about 5 days before deciding that it had enough of a finish, so I let it sit for a couple of weeks before final sanding. I did this last step with mild ScotchBrite dipped in paste wax before wiping with a dry paper towel (the blue or white Shop Rags work great). The finish is thin, but it's made for gun stocks, so it's durable.


Not the best photo, but it shows the old hardware body with new bridge and neck.

 

[pewternhrata]

Thanks for all the advise. I went with semi gloss polyurethane, looked at the piece I did last night and some small scratches appeared in the wood. I'm hoping after a light sand and another coat of poly they will 'disappear'. Only noticeable when the light hits at that perfect angle, time to upgrade my lighting in the garage.
I've used polyurethane before with great results, I'm always curious to try new things and am tempted to try the wipe on poly but skeptical of being able to get a good layer. For this projects sake I'll stick to the poly applied with a foam brush.

 

[MrBoat]

Thanks for all the advise. I went with semi gloss polyurethane, looked at the piece I did last night and some small scratches appeared in the wood. I'm hoping after a light sand and another coat of poly they will 'disappear'. Only noticeable when the light hits at that perfect angle, time to upgrade my lighting in the garage.
I've used polyurethane before with great results, I'm always curious to try new things and am tempted to try the wipe on poly but skeptical of being able to get a good layer. For this projects sake I'll stick to the poly applied with a foam brush.

Wipe on poly or tung oil is (or can be) an ongoing process. Instead of buffing or waxing, one can simply periodically clean and wipe on a new coat for a fresh look. Either way, if using oil based, slow drying products without a dedicated clean room, you're typically going to rub the surface so many times, whether it's waxing, buffing or sanding. The wipe on method usually just uses a lot less expensive sandpaper that creates even more dust in the area, which is good a reason as any.

If it really matters, I have taken products outdoors and wet the area down the night before to keep the dust down. Even better if it's over grass.

 

[pewternhrata]

Staining was spot on, no complaints. First coat of polyurethane was brushed on, looked pretty good. Sanded light with 220 per the can and decided to go with wipe on poly. I found it to be very easy to work with. The wipe on poly also called for 220 but I opted for just 0000 steel wool due to very thin coats. It looks very good, however what would the final step be? The surface isn't rough just doesn't look as "clean" as I would like or imagined. Read a lot of opinions to use a car wax for a final finish?

 

[MrBoat]

If for a satin finish, I would wipe on about 8 coats, and the simple solution being to burnish the surface with the grain with 0000 steel wool for a good, hand rubbed, satin sheen.

 

[pewternhrata]

If for a satin finish, I would wipe on about 8 coats, and the simple solution being to burnish the surface with the grain with 0000 steel wool for a good, hand rubbed, satin sheen.

I have one coat brushed on with a foam brush (no bubbles) and 3 coats wipe on. After reading comments and thinking it out, I decided to go with a gloss.

 

[MrBoat]

I have one coat brushed on with a foam brush (no bubbles) and 3 coats wipe on. After reading comments and thinking it out, I decided to go with a gloss.

In the event the gloss goes wrong, the steel wool treatment I mentioned will still work over gloss. I have cut and polished varnish with a car buffer but I had to let it cure for weeks and there was more than just a few wipe on coats.

 

[pewternhrata]

In the event the gloss goes wrong, the steel wool treatment I mentioned will still work over gloss. I have cut and polished varnish with a car buffer but I had to let it cure for weeks and there was more than just a few wipe on coats.

That was my exact concern with polishing, id have to wait for it to fully cure before attempting that.
I just checked the piece again, longer it dries the better it looks. Just wiped on one more coat and it's looking as expected. This is the reason I hate staining- time is key and I start to lose patience lol. I do have a small half bathroom I've been sitting it in with the fan running, getting good dry times between coats and no dust, also haven't had any odor issues inside. I'll let it sit for a good day without doing anything else. Hopefully it's good to go after that.